The wait is over. BCCI has announced its 30-member probables for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and one of India’s leading wicket takers Zaheer Khan is not anywhere in the list. A few years back the talented left arm fast bowler was considered to be the Sachin Tendulkar of Indian Bowling attack, but his fitness concern has suddenly come to the forefront now.
Will Zaheer Khan play again for India?
The 36-year-old fast bowler has been the backbone of India’s bowling department since his debut in the year 2000, but the scenario has completely changed in the last two years. Nevertheless, the ace cricketer played his last ODI match a couple of years back in 2012. Likewise, he played his last test match in February this year. The longer his delay to return to the national side more will be speculated about his fitness issues.
Something is definitely not going right with the fast bowler. The veteran cricketer is yet to fully recover from his shoulder injury that he sustained during the last IPL. The consistent good performances by the young pacers in the team like Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Varun Aaron and others have further thrown open the question that is the Zaheer Khan’s career over?
The mentor of this master bowler Sudhir Naik doesn’t think so. When he was asked to react about the senior bowler’s exclusion from the list of the 30 member squad of Indian team for the forthcoming cricket World Cup, Nair explained to the media that since Zaheer is not cent percent fit that’s why he was not included in the said list. It is worthwhile to mention here that Zaheer Khan was the highest wicket taker in the last World Cup jointly with Shaheed Afridi.
Sudhir has further explained to the media that Zaheer will not only come back to the team with a bang, but he will also play his 100th Test soon. The senior cricketer has already played 92 tests and is just 8 tests short of achieving this feat. Zaheer is the second highest wicket taker in tests after Anil Kumble. Also he is the fourth highest wicket taker in ODIs.
The seamer was last seen in Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL 7) while playing for Mumbai Indians. Even after six months, the bowler is still feeling some pain while bowling the Yorker. Hence the fast bowler doesn’t want to take any chance. He wants to start playing as soon as he regains his full fitness back. The bowler is suffering from a shoulder injury that he sustained during the last IPL.
The left hand pacer is still optimistic about playing for India in both tests and ODIs soon. The only thing that he wants to ensure is to play with his full potential and cent percent fitness. Zaheer is currently undergoing fitness session with former Team India’s Physio Andrew Leipus and trainer Adrian Le Roux at Pro Sport Fitness Center. Sources reveal that the left hand speedster is eager to play for the next IPL 8 and is managing his fitness workout session meticulously for that purpose.
Tags: BCCI, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Cricket, ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Indian Cricket, Indian Premier League, IPL 8, Mohammad Shami, Sudhir Naik, Varun Aaron, Zaheer Khan
